Death of a Salesman This play was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. Miller was born in New York City in 1915. He never did well in high school, even though his father was a teacher. He was all for the sports, much like Biff in Death of a Salesman. He worked in an automot-ive parts company to pay his way through the University of Michigan. He graduated in 1938, majoring in journalism and completed his first play, …showed first 75 words of 1115 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1115 total…is caught in between reality and fulfilling his fathers expectations. He realizes that he's a failure to his father, but on the contrary he doesn't want his father to see him that way. He finds it easier to lie to his father than to confront him about his "dream world". When he finally does, it breaks Willy's spirit and drives him to suicide. The characters of this book illustrate the tragedy of a self-induced reality.